2: Rembrandt, Navel Gazing
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Self Portrait (or, Self Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar), 1659Oil on canvas, w66 cm x h84.5 cm (26" x 33.3")
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA
A popular sub-genre of portrait art: the self-portrait. Used among artists for self-training in general portraiture and/or facial anatomy, for trying out visual techniques/refining style, and for acting as a statement of visual style, among other things.
Rembrandt is famous for self-portraits, given that he did dozens of them, incidentally creating a time-lapse view of himself over several decades. Want a little baby-face Rembrandt? Here he is:
Rembrandt also used his self-portraits for a variety of purposes, including the ones mentioned above. Although the 'statement of visual style' function should probably get special focus; Rembrandt's portraits have become famously emblematic of how he used light (and thick paint within the light) to create a moody, mysterious atmosphere around his own introspective self as a subject.
Rembrandt is famous for self-portraits, given that he did dozens of them, incidentally creating a time-lapse view of himself over several decades. Want a little baby-face Rembrandt? Here he is:
(Click image for larger version/details.)